Small Steps
by omegafire17
Summary: Being shirtless for the first time in your girlfriend's room is always awkward, especially when you're taking it slow. However, soon the warm atmosphere will heat up a little differently. YamatoXMei, Rated M (not a lemon).


**Disclaimer:** Don't own Say I Love you, manga or anime, including characters.

**Rating:** M (not a lemon)

**I really wish I came across this anime sooner - it's so adorably cute.**

* * *

So, there they were now: sitting in her room with her while his shirt and coat were in the dryer. Not awkward or embarrassing at all-

"Sorry, but nothing me or mom have will fit you" Mei spoke into the silence, genuinely worried, though she was facing away from him.

"No, it's fine" he assured, though throughout it all, he too was embarrassed; he was shirtless in her own room, even if the reason was entirely explainable. "I'm not cold - if anything, I'm totally sweating over here" he continued, feeling it in the way his heart beat.

In his peripheral vision, he saw Mei glance at him out of the corner of her eye before going back to normal. "Your face is red."

"So is yours" he replied; he'd seen it for himself, not that he had any reason to doubt his own color. She said/did nothing, which he took as a good sign, before he caught sight of her bracelet - it was still a little fragile, but it was alright. "Thanks a lot. For taking care of your bracelet, I mean."

She hunched her shoulders a little, but not from cold, just nervousness. "I'm glad to" she mumbled, but sincere.

He had a little smile, before he reached into the back of his pants, holding one box out in his palm. "Here" he offered, to her little surprise. "These should never break. Go ahead."

Watching as she opened it, he liked how her face very subtly moved with curiosity - when it opened, she breathed out, the redness returning to her cheeks again. "Ah" she whispered, her mouth opening in a little smile as she held it up; a light copper-colored pair ring.

A little embarrassed now, he turned his gaze. "That's what I was shopping for" he said, despite that, scratching at his nose. "Pair rings."

"You have one too, Kurosawa?"

He jolted. "'Kurosawa'?" he asked, exasperated. _"Still?"_

She jolted as well, as if she hadn't realized it, before looking down a little guiltily. "I've wanted to call you Yamato for awhile now" she admitted, the red deepening.

"I've wanted you to call me that too" he said, but with a touch of gentle. "I told you; I wouldn't mind."

She averted her eyes a little. "I- I guess that, I'm just nervous about it" she whispered.

That made him smile; she was cute when nervous. Heck, she was cute overall, and he instinctively started moving closer to her on his knees - she didn't notice until he'd said "Me too", looking up just in time to register his closeness. Just then, he slipped his hands to her cheeks and to the back of her head, gently drawing her against his collarbone. In some vague sense, he felt the towel fall off, but that was far far in the background; nothing else but the two of them mattered right now.

"Sorry" he whispered low, somewhere around her ear, enjoying her warmth. "I just want to stay like this."

Far from being embarrassed though, she just accepted it, stirring her head against him - he heard a little intake of breath before-

"I really like your s-smell."

He gasped, his entire body having gone tense, and his heartbeat went right into his throat.

"Mei!"

He didn't know what he was gonna say, or do - all he knew was that in that moment, his passion for this wonderful woman - _his_ wonderful woman - had exploded. He was heating up even more, heart pounding in his eardrums, and his vision blurred once or twice. Just after that, his body realized that he'd moved, and slowly he began to adjust to this as well. He was now on his hands and knees, panting and sweating, while all sense of thinking seemed gone from his mind.

Mei lay below him, on her back with the coat fully open, though stopped by the sleeves. At exactly the same time, he saw the truth of what he'd long since known; her baggy clothes didn't do her body justice, even if he'd never truly seen it beneath them. The curves started at her hips, moving smoothly in bending motions before smoothing out just underneath her arms, one of which was raised from the motion of falling. Her breasts as well; big, but not too big, even restrained/clothed as they were, white straps teasing at this. Still, all that information gathered was not in his primary attention-

She was completely and utterly still, save for the heaving of her stomach, her hair splayed a bit to the sides. Her eyes shone as she stared at him, cheeks red, mouth open as well - whether with love, fear, passion, or some other mixture, he was not sure right now. But he _was_ sure of one thing; even with the suddenness, the shock, if Mei were afraid or wanted to say no to anything like this happening, she would not hesitate to show it. Just being conflicted, confused or other in addition to willing (possibly) would garner the same thing, even if she waited till the last second.

He felt all this somewhere, but it seemed so hollow right now, so unimportant compared to the pulse in his ears, the wonderful woman laying beneath him with curves waiting to be touched, to be explored.

Moving instinctively, he started to lean down, hand reaching right toward her chest-

At that moment, images burst behind his eyes: Aiko running into his arms, tearfully cut up about her boyfriend, and utterly desperate for love.

-he stopped, just an inch from her, even as his body went rigid again and he gasped.

His pulse was still pounding, the hormones were raging to let loose and touch her, but something held them fast.

Several long moments passed, and Mei continued to stare at him with wide eyes... she hadn't seemed to notice his hand yet. Slowly, ever so slowly, he leaned his head down while keeping his hand absolutely still. Soon he was inches above her lips, feeling her heavy breathing, just as she was feeling his. "Mei?" he rasped.

Her name brought her out of it, and she briefly glanced down her own body, where her cheeks soon turned the deepest red, but soon back at him. "Y... Y..." she breathed, almost squeaking.

Some part of him wondered if she was trying to say his name, or 'You' as part of a statement, but he pushed that aside. "Mei" he tried again, slowly closing his eyes for a little; that made it easier. "You saw what I was about to do... right?"

"Ah... I-I... mmph."

If he wasn't feeling so hot, literally, he would have smiled. "It's true" he breathed. "I want you right now, Mei (she gasped)... but I can't just touch you without your permission, like I was gonna do, even in the heat of things."

He opened his eyes, and all he could see was her face, which was enough for him. "So I'm saying it now" he whispered gently, despite the pounding. "If you feel ready for anything, no matter how small, just say so, Mei. Same applies for not ready. Small steps, you know?"

It seemed like an eternity while they looked at each other, before he slowly felt her hand come up, touching his cheek.

"Small... steps" she breathed, her eyes half-closed, cheeks still red. She made little motions toward him, but couldn't seem to get closer.

He got it though, and gently touched his lips to hers - the love and warmth of it was slowly pushing the pulse away, and he could think again, if fuzzily. As he kissed her though, he noticed Mei was still quivering nervously, and he started to get why. She jolted when his hands pushed themselves under her back, but she held onto him as he carefully pulled her upright again. He wanted to make sure she would feel safe with him, and if laying on the floor was too fast, then he wouldn't push her. It seemed to work too, as she touched his shoulders as they kissed, though the quiver remained.

So this entire situation was making her nervous - well, he couldn't blame her, as he was in the same boat now that his hormones were dying down to manageable.

Every now and then, there were scattered bits of conversations as they kissed again and again.

"Yamato?"

"Hmm?"

"If you hadn't stopped... would you r-really have taken me?"

He'd paused, his heartbeat threatening to return to his throat, but he forced it down. "I think I would have" he admitted faintly, before kissing her, but the same level they had been doing. "If you'd allowed me to, I mean - any sign that you didn't would snap me out of it, or so I really hope."

"Why?"

"I don't want to take advantage of you, Mei" he'd whispered, before deeply kissing her. "I mean it."

"T-Thank you."

It sounded so simple, but from her, it said it all.

At some point, he felt her hand touch his, and he tried to grasp it, but she moved differently than before. It almost seemed to be a guiding grip, and he gasped a little, thinking 'was she really gonna-?'... however, she only held his hand like that; it was unmoving otherwise.

"Yamato" Mei whispered, her voice weak in volume, but from sheer embarrassment. "I... I think I..."

When she didn't continue, he got a little smile, touching his other hand to her cheek gently. "You're not ready for any of the big stuff?" he breathed as a suggestion. She surprised him though by shaking her head a little-

"Most of it, y-yes, but I-" she whispered, her grip tightening from the effort. "I might like... a-a test run."

She said that last part very quickly, as if to get it over with, and she gasped heavily after she realized she'd said it (face turned redder than a tomato too).

Himself, he was a little confused, but worked to put the pieces together - most of the big stuff was definitely not happening, but she did want him to do something on the small scale. Only question was, what did 'test run' refer to? He had several tentative ideas, but he might need sec-

Jolting, it came to him, where he slowly held Mei against his collarbone again, using his one hand. "By test run, you mean" he breathed slowly, gently, "Just touch you for a minute or so, over your clothes, then stop? Is that right?"

She squirmed under his words, and it was so cute, the way she initially tried to look anywhere but at him because of the embarrassment. "I-I don't know what you mean" she whimpered, the red deepening again. "But t-there is a time limit."

A little smile again; trying to deny it, but admitting it at the same time whether she knew it or not. Cute.

"In your head?" he prodded gently.

She shook her head, and her left hand slowly became a fist, which she held just off to the side. He looked at it for a moment before he glanced at her:

"Sixty seconds, huh?" he breathed softly. It sounded out of nowhere, but he knew that once he started, she might get lost in the pleasure of the sensations; she couldn't only think the seconds through consciously.

The slightest dip of her head, glancing away from him, but simply embarrassed. "S-Starting now" she mumbled.

Well, that was to be expected, he mused - but the first thing he did was kiss her gently, to her surprise. Still, even as they kissed, he started moving his hands from her shoulders to just down her arms. They moved a little as he did so, before he gently touched the backs of his hands to her shirt fabric - even that caused her to jolt. He just smiled, making little circular rubbing motions as she squirmed, even at this little contact. Still, while he kept it up for a few moments, he soon turned his hands around, gently touching the palms to her chest now.

She gasped at the sensation, her eyes snapping open as they shone, while reflexively or otherwise, one finger (her pinky) extended to show that twelve seconds had gone by.

He noted that in his peripheral vision, while still gently moving his hands around, intending to be gentle. Mei made little sounds even at this, but he took his time, waiting till the second finger had extended before he started to squeeze. This boosted sensation made her gasp again, and he wanted to hear it over and over again, but he knew he couldn't, so he tried to enjoy it while it lasted tonight. He felt Mei start to tremble against his lower body, where they were still pressed together, but she held together, and so did he.

Third and fourth fingers went by like this, Mei's cheeks a very deep red as she panted, looking at him sometimes as he worked, and away sometimes when it became too embarrassing, or even just when she was panting/gasping in little bursts.

It was harder work, but he kept count of the last twelve seconds in his mind, hoping he wouldn't be going too far.

With eight seconds to go, he reluctantly removed his hands from her breasts - Mei's gasp of surprise, confusion and (very slight) want made him not want to, but he'd already committed to this. He moved his hands right to her hips, where she jolted first in surprise, then in realization when they began to tease her legs through the skirt, especially her inner thighs. She made several whimpers as a result-

_Five seconds-_

He kept up the inner thigh stroking, knowing he couldn't go straight to this next step without warning; just let it sink it a little bit more.

_Three seconds-_

Just then, he slowly moved upward, his fingers trailing onto her pubic area, clothed as it was.

_Two seconds-_

Mei gasped even louder when this hit her, and she continued to squirm heavily as he worked, panting heavily even if he was only lightly stroking. Still, that light stroking was directed just above/at her most private place, so it was no wonder she was reacting this way. He kept it up at the same level, even as he directed a glance at her mostly-open-now fist.

_Zero seconds-_

Her thumb remained curled.

A little confused, still unconsciously doing his stroking, he wondered if maybe he'd distracted her _too_ well, or if his sense of time was really that skewed.

_Negative two seconds-_

Mei gasped, and like a rocket, her thumb extended.

That being his cue, he quickly and utterly pulled back from Mei, suddenly panting and sweating as if he'd run a mile in gym class, though he hadn't done anything of the sort! Across from him, Mei was just the same, though she held an arm across her breasts, and the other fist over her stomach (and below). They just stared at each other as the seconds passed, but he only saw the way her eyes shone, the way her lips moved as they panted, and those little beads of sweat. As it wore on, he started to get afraid that maybe he'd done too much at once, and scared her. But her expression started to change, which he noted right away.

While still breathing heavily, her eyes were softening, even as the red deepened, and her mouth was soon set in a little smile. Very shy, heavily embarrassed, but happy even as she glanced away with her eyes.

Mei's happy, he thought, his whole body sagging with relief.

That little smile lasted all of two seconds as something clicked in her head; Mei gasped hard, and her arm/fist combo tightened across her body, even as her lip trembled nervously as the reality of what just happened apparently sank in.

It made him smile; she was so dog-gone cute, and she was all his. Or would be, once they had taken several hundred more steps like this, but he'd work hard to make sure she was beside him everyday - especially after the ordeal he'd unwittingly put her through.

_Cha-chunk_

_"I'm home!"_

They practically froze.

/

_A little after that_

_"Mei?"_ her mother called, before footsteps sounded close at hand, then the door opened (he braced). "Help me get dinner ready! Uhh!?"

He silently gulped to himself, but worked to keep calm; Mei was lying on her bed, currently turned away from him, fully clothed, even if no doubt wishing she could become invisible right now. He sat a respectable distance away on his knees, but shirtless, which was a problem. It looked suspicious, but it wasn't an immediate assumption one, or so he kept telling himself. Slowly, carefully, he turned his head to glance at Mei's mother, who blinked twice at the situation.

He didn't have to try for a sheepish expression, as it came naturally. "Hi, ma'am" he breathed with a similar tone. "I'm sorry to be introduced like this, truly, but it's not what it may look like."

_"It could have been though"_ some part of him felt; if she'd been an hour later and they hadn't been interrupted... if he and Mei had gone further, and hadn't gotten dressed before she walked through the front door... they couldn't have moved fast enough to appear decent, not in this small apartment. Still, the image of Mei lying in her bed under the covers (everything at/below her chest covered), hair splayed and her cheeks deeply red, but eyes shining as she panted happily-

He nearly yelled when he realized what he was doing, and did everything he could to push the image away without Mei's mother noticing!

* * *

**When this first happened, I was both surprised and wanting it to happen, even as I knew in the back of my head that they would get interrupted somehow. Likely for the best though; their relationship had grown, but it was still fragile, and having sex might have scared her****... at least, doing so that early, so suddenly, and in her own room at that.**

**Still, I wanted a little more to happen, and this is the result - I think it works well :)**


End file.
